Besame Lipstick Review: Pinks

Just got three more Besame lipstick colors, and these are of the pink variety. Don’t get me wrong- -I absolutely adore my Besame reds- -but it’s high time I gave some of their other hues a shot. And I am really glad I did!

In the photos below, you will see lipstick tubes, lipstick swatches, and a new thing I am going to see if I can stick to: lipstick kiss prints! The Besame colors featured in this review are Portrait Pink, Debutante Pink, and Dusty Rose.

besame lipstick review

Besame lipstick swatches

besame lipstick review

Besame lipstick tubes and prints

besame lipstick review

Besame lipstick prints

While I do my best to capture the lipstick colors as accurately as possible, it’s kind of hard to do. Every lipstick hue seems to alter appearance considering the time of day, the setting, and the type of lighting, among other factors. My favorite of the three Besame lipstick colors pictured above is Dusty Rose, and yet the photos don’t seem to do it justice. I described it to a friend as “…mauve-esque. Kind of an antique-looking, shabby chic shade of pinkish-brown.” Debutante Pink is also a uniquely gorgeous color; I’d describe it as a pinkish-lavender with a gentle, frosty shimmer. Maybe because a different formula is needed to create the frosty shimmer, Debutante Pink seems more creamy and moist than the other Besame lipsticks I’ve tried. It really is a beautiful lipstick, although I think Dusty Rose looks better on my complexion. Portrait Pink is a more natural hue for my complexion; a soft, pretty pink that doesn’t draw too much attention.

I must have said it before, and I am sure it shows in the amount of reviews I make about the brand, but Besame is definitely one of my top favorite lipstick brands. As far as packaging, cases, color, texture, and fragrance goes, it is just such high quality. Add that to the vintage vibe and uniqueness of the whole Besame cosmetics line, and we have something really special to enhance our beauty and lives with.

Stay tuned for more lipstick reviews and beauty product recommendations coming up soon!

xox,
The Lipstick Lady

Kat Von D “Foiled Love” Solid Lipstick Review

I first became aware of Kat Von D from a reality television show about tattoo artists. I forget if it was LA Ink, Miami Ink, or something else. I wasn’t that interested in the show, but I remember liking her sexy rocker style. Not only is Kat Von D a tattoo artist and a reality television star, but she is also a model, musician, and creator of her own makeup line.

For a while now, I have been on the prowl for some kind of metallic-looking lip colors. My dream has, at least in part, been realized with Kat Von D’s “Foiled Love” lipstick colors. The “Foiled Love” lipstick collection isn’t the only one she’s created (there is also the “Painted Love” collection, among others), but it is the only one I’ve been able to sample so far, and I really like what I’ve tried.

From left to right, below, you’ll see Oh My Goth, F.T.W., and Valentine. I believe those are three out of a collection of five “Foiled Love” solid lipsticks, with the other two being Beranice and Forever & Never.

click image to view larger
kat von d swatches katvond2

The main reason I like these lipsticks is because I really like the metallic and shimmery effect, which I haven’t yet discovered elsewhere. Oh My Goth and F.T.W. are more metallic than they are shimmery, and Valentine is more shimmery than metallic. At first I favored the more metallic lipstick shades, as that’s what I was looking for. But I ended up liking the shimmery effect of Valentine just as much, depending on my mood and the look I am going for that day.

I find the silver lipstick cases to be very attractive. As for the lipstick itself: the texture is okay, not too liquid-y, maybe a bit dry. To be honest, I’m not crazy about the way this lipstick feels, gliding on. I tend to apply multiple layers of this lipstick, because doing so enhances the desired (metallic/shimmer) effect. I also noticed that the lipstick stays on for a long time (perhaps a positive side-effect of the dryness). I don’t like the smell of the confection; it really doesn’t smell like anything at all other than a little bad. I guess aroma just wasn’t a priority here. And considering the relatively affordable cost of these lipsticks, it’s expected that not everything about the product will be luxury quality. I am truly in love with the unique colors, though, which is why the “Foiled Love” lipsticks by Kat Von D ultimately get a thumbs up, from me.

The only other Kat Von D cosmetics product I’ve tried so far was an absolutely *gorgeous* shimmery purple nail lacquer called Wonderchild. It was the most beautiful nail color, which is why I should have kept it, even when the applicator broke. I could have just crazy-glued the cap part back to the brush part, and continued using the polish… it would have been worthwhile. But I was impatient and threw the whole thing out, thinking that I almost exclusively use shellac nail polish these days, anyway. Still, I’d buy Wonderchild again, and maybe even some of Kat Von D’s other fabulous nail polish colors.

From what I’ve experienced so far, I would recommend Kat Von D’s cosmetic products to people who love unique, fun, and darkly sexy makeup colors. Just don’t expect everything to work perfectly; affordable costs and alternative beauty make up for the other aspects which might be less than luxury in quality.

Thanks for reading,
The Lipstick Lady

Shellac Supplies

Just got all the stuff I need to do my own shellac manicures at home.

Thanks to lanaindiana for the advice! See her video on at home shellac here.

I might make more posts about at home shellac in the future. For now, I am hoping I can get my nails anywhere even remotely close to as good as my nail tech does them. *scared*

Thanks for stopping by,
The Lipstick Lady

Edit to add: Just finished, and I didn’t do *too* bad for my first time. I got the UV lamp that fits two hands at a time, and one of my thumb nails apparently wasn’t getting enough of the light and didn’t cure like the rest of them. So I think I will either do one hand at a time from now on, or do the thumbs separate from the rest of the fingers.

Edit again to add: If you get a UV light for at-home shellac, get the one that is for an individual hand or foot at a time. The one that fits two hands or two feet at a time doesn’t cure all the nails well enough.